Special from Speed51.com – Michael House scored the win in the Pro Late Model season opened at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway Saturday night. The win was a sentimental one for him and his team.
On the hood of House’s car was a memorial to Jillian Brown, the daughter of car owners Jonathan and Jenn Brown, who was killed in a car accident last October. After finishing second in the Pro Late Model portion of the All American 400 last November, House was one spot better to start the 2021 season.
House took the lead on lap 62 of the 100-lap race, moving into the top spot ahead of Kody Swanson. From there, House led the rest of the way in one of House’s strongest cars ever at Music City.
“It’s probably the best car I’ve had here that I can ever remember. I have to give all the thanks to Jonathan Brown for good equipment. I know we have to work on it, but having a good car owner willing to spend the money to make it go faster goes a long way.
“I really can’t thank all the guys at Rackley WAR enough. Willie’s got an unbelievable shock package. I can’t stress enough how good it really is.”
Jake Garcia rallied from a 10th place starting position to finish second to House, leading the out-of-state brigade after a last-minute decision to take part in the Nashville season opener.
“We started 10th and put ourselves in a hole in qualifying, but we worked our way up,” said Garcia. “Got a few at the beginning and tried to save our tires for the end. We managed to hold on for a second place finish.”
Competing in his first race since August of last year, an ecstatic Jackson Boone celebrated a third-place finish. He admitted the competitor in him wasn’t entirely satisfied with the podium finish, but the smile could not be wiped from his face.
Jackson Boone finished third in the Pro Late Model season opener, his first race since August 2020.
“I’ll take it,” said Boone. “We’re not satisfied, we show up to the track to win. I’ll absolutely take a P3. Opening night is always crazy.”
Meanwhile, Swanson’s strong run ended on pit road after the first 61 laps. However, a faulty clutch which proved a hindrance from the start of the race finally led to an early exit, nine laps shy of the finish.
“The clutch started slipping, going out, whatever it is,” said Swanson. “A bit of uncharted territory for me, but part of racing. It started at the beginning. I felt bad, guys were getting called back for bad starts and it wasn’t their fault. I was trying to go with them and just couldn’t. Once we got going, we were pretty sporty.”
Race fans who missed Saturday’s race will be able to see a replay of the event, as well as highlights and a recap, in the coming days on Speed51.TV.
-Story by: Zach Evans, Speed51 Content Supervisor – Twitter @ztevans
-Photo credit: Speed51 Photo
Unofficial Results – Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway Pro Late Model Season Opener
- Michael House
- Jake Garcia
- Jackson Boone
- Christopher Tullis
- Cole Williams
- Dylan Jones
- Garrett Dies
- Hunter Wright
- Chase Johnson
- Bryson Shaffer
- Tandy Marlin
- Zach Johnson
- Bennie Hamlett
- Mason Mingus
- Kody Swanson
- Jim Wall
- Jordon Riddick
- Jolynn Wilkinson
- Dylan Fetcho
- Kyle Neveau
- William Hale
- Davey Coble
- Austin Wilson
- Daniel Bolden
- Austin Brawley
- Michael Bolden
- Tracy Green
- Billy Sisco